Marcus Cornelius: The soldier that abolished the sword from war
by nyonker
Summary: A 16 year old deals with the ultimate horror of war after his first battle, and goes on as an artillery guard to transform the way war is fought in the west. A story of why we mange to always find a reason to fight each other despite how much we hate ourselves when the smoke clears, and why we always will. Rated T for intense, pitched battles of classical-era warfare.


**I've been playing Rome 2 TW since release, and been using some rather unorthodox tactics on the battlefield. Large number of war machines, vastly outnumbering the number of melee units on the field, that kind of thing. Gave me an idea for a story of a general that in his service, helps transform the way wars are fought centuries before the first mongol matchlock cannons are fired. **

chapter 1 - The Day I First Fought for Rome

My name is Marcus Cornelius. I am 16 years old, and today has been the worst day of my life. My family are fishermen. We have been for centuries. But today, my father and all my uncles died for Rome fighting in the garrison fleet. I was the only Cornelius to survive. We were on the levy raiding ship, which is usually as safe as naval combat gets, but today, well, you know what happened out there. To you, the 34 men that died on the levy ships is nothing compared to the loss of 80 well-trained heavy infantry, but to me, 5 of those casualties are everything.

In the battle, spears struck my cousin, all my uncles, and worst of all, my father. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, but now, I just want revenge on the Etruscan League for what they have done to me. Sir, I want to join the Roman army. But first, I will tell my story and explain how my family got to this point.

It all started 2 or 3 years ago when news came that the Etruscan League had occupied territory on an island across the sea to the west of Rome. For the first time, Italia being attacked from the sea was a real threat. Until that point, Neapolis was a major fishery, and the steadily growing army consuming more and more grain meant that the civilians had to find another major source of food, and this was making the Cornelius family from wealthy to filthy rich. It was apparent to my father that we would need good administrators in the future, so I stayed in school much longer than anyone in our family had before. I was learning the family trade, but at that time much more importance was placed on my formal education.

Then, everything changed. The threat of invasion from the sea had grown so serious that the Senate decided a military harbor was needed closer to Rome. Neapolis transformed over the next year and a half from a open fishery to a high security naval yard. This created a dilemma for my family. We had been fishers for centuries, but we had no where to dock now. Our family fortune and fishing fleet barely was enough to cover a small enough space to dock afew fishing vessels. However, my family was so concerned with tradition, that they thought it was worth it. With our fortune gone and only 3 boats left, I was taken out of school and became a full-time apprentice.

We did alright. We caught a good number of fish, and our family was still a highly respected one, even though we were now rather poor. Every day coming in from a hard day's work, we watched the might of Rome's navy grow as huge ships with complex war machines called scorpions and ballistae which we simple fishermen couldn't begin to understand were erected where a year and half before, a fishing fleet once docked. Soon, the fleet left, as a enemy fleet had been spotted to the north. What was not known was that there were 2 fleets. The one spotted was a fluke for the real invasion force. When the fleet was not in port, Neapolis had 2 defensive ships. A large ship called a Bireme that had room for 80 good Roman infantry on its deck, and a small, fast galley for the few dozen fishermen left in Neapolis, which from we would support the previous ship by throwing spears at a safe distance. Being a levy ship is usually decently safe. The heavy assault ship does the real fighting, we just decrease their losses by throwing spears at the enemy marines. From the experience of whaling as well as fishing, we were all highly accurate with spears, by our standards anyway.

We were out fishing one day. We had a good catch, and the boat was nearly full of fish. There was a strong east wind, and we were expecting a easy trip back into harbor. I had grown in my skill over the past few months and now I knew everything about our boat. Where the leaks would pop up if the water got rough, how to handle the sails, how to balance the full nets out on the deck so the tiny boat wouldn't tip. We were about to throw the last of our nets in the water when I saw speck in the distance. It came nearer and I could see it was a large, heavy ship. But it didn't look Roman. I called my father. "That is certainly not a Roman army ship. It looks more dark, not bright like the red ships of the Roman navy," he said. "Marcus, get ready to drop the sail, just in case." I untied the sail, and got ready on the rigging to release it all the way if my father told me to.

My uncles where still pulling in a net. Then came the realization. That ship was dark blue. It had to be Etruscan. "Marcus! drop that sail! Its Etruscan! We must warn the levy commander and get Neapolis to arms!" I quickly did what my father asked, and the sail unfurled and we plowed through the water. You might wonder what the chances are for a fishing boat to outrun a massive warship. Actually, they are quite good, because we can use the sails and our boat, even fully loaded, is much lighter than a massive Quinqureme. If you are relying on oars, we would be overtaken in a second, but when you have the wind to your back, we can quickly outrun a massive ship. We were fast enough and far enough out to give the city a good 20 minutes to prepare for the attack. Once the defending ships were out to sea, we could probably buy the city another 20 minutes. But first, we had to get to shore. This was going to be a long while.

We had time to talk. This would be my first time in combat. I was adapt with a throwing spear, but was nervous as to how I would react once the spears started flying. My father had seen combat in the heavy infantry 20 years before, defending Rome from a people that no longer existed. When the army laid siege to their capital, they refused to surrender, and after months of siege, the Romans stormed the gates, only to find the entire population had died of starvation weeks ago.

My father told me this, and I will never forget what he told me next. "Marcus, as time goes on, war is becoming more and more common for our people. We are surrounded by enemies, yet we always hold. And we always are unstoppable when we advance. But never, ever forget what my commander told us that day and I am now telling you. Rome will resort to anything necessary to arise victorious, but we always have a deep respect for any people who are not too afraid to defend their homes, and we cease celebrations of victory out of the deepest respect and pity for those who would rather die of starvation than be conquered.

When we are at sea, after the action is over, we will save every enemy we can if their ships are utterly destroyed. But if they refuse to be captured, all we can offer them is a salute. They will deserve it. It is good your first battle is at sea. I and your uncles will be beside you the entire time. Do not fear, for we will arise victorious no matter how many ships are out there." I tried to process what my father had just said. I knew Rome had a great military heritage, and that we were descended from the great Hercules, hero of the Trojan war centuries ago. Rome prided itself in fighting with honor, even if other nations did not. But was this something I was ready to carry on? I didn't know. All I knew was that if those ships got through, our entire town would burn, and that we fishermen were the first line of defense.

When we rolled up to the dock, two of my uncles quickly tied the boat while the rest of us ran for harbor command. In minutes, the large, heavy military ships were beginning to put to sea. Our deck was piled high with throwing spears, and shields fastened to the side of the ship offered us some protection from enemy arrows and spears. Just ahead of us, the heavy assault ship was lined with Rome's finest, armored offensive heavy infantry. Our job was to simply give them supporting fire. It wasn't long before the enemy ships were once more in our view. I began to feel a deep anxiety and fear of what was to come. On each of those 10 massive warships were 80 heavily armed men who wanted me dead. The key port of Neapolis was under attack, and we were the first line of defense, the garrison fleet.

The thunder of the several dozen oars moving the ship hitting the water again and again and again seemed to be battle drums playing. It didn't take long for the rhythm to run through my body and my heart be in sync with its beat. This was the warrior's call for me. I heard the history of Rome play through my head, all of those tales of heroism and sacrifice of the early republic and beyond I had heard since I was a child, and that all was being placed on me now. I must defend this city for those who cannot. There were thousands of innocent people who would surely suffer if we failed. This mindset stuck with me as the enemy ships neared our range. We began to ready our spears. We could faintly hear the admiral on the assault ship giving a inspirational speech to the heavy infantry, who erupted into cheers and clanging of swords on their shields. The first ship came closer and closer. And then, to our horror, the unthinkable happened.

Being around a military port, you hear of new naval technologies once in awhile. One of them was the iron battering ram. able to pierce through the toughest ships in one ram, they were not a weapon to be taken lightly, especially since you had no way of knowing a ship had one until it hit you. Us peasant fishermen spear throwers watched the assault ship disintegrate into splinters ahead of us. The problem with heavy infantry at sea is you cannot swim with armor on. Before we could even see their faces, 80 brave legionaries perished to Neptune's wrath. We were just barely out of spear-throwing range. The captain called for the crew to row hard astern and raise the sail. We were backing out of this mess. Because we had to change direction, they got some ground on us. Enough to be able to hit them with spears.

After seeing what they did to our far superior comrades, we didn't have to be told twice to hit them as hard as we could. But so did they. Four small support ships around the size of our ship came to bear on us. 160 spear throwers vs 40. Its not a complicated equation. My cousin was the first to fall. He was my best friend since we were no older than 4. Then afew others, who I had seen around the market quite often but didn't really know. Then, I watched a spear slam into my uncle. Then came the worst 3 seconds of my life. The enemy had been conserving ammunition before, only carefully aiming and shooting. Now, they must have had a change of orders.

Easily more then 100 spears came on our deck at once. Nearly 2 dozen men fell. All my uncles fell instantly. My father was hit in the chest, whose last words were to do my duty and make Rome and him proud. Only a split second later, the captain gave an order. "Stop shooting you idiots! We cannot possibly do more to them than they to us! Take cover until we hit the shore!" We needed no encouragement. It was a hard 5 minutes back to the beach. The sound of the oars was this time joined by the sound of spears ricocheting off the shields which now, because we were crouched, gave us full protection.

It wasn't long before we were given relief. Half a thousand spear throwers on coast of Neapolis ripped through the enemy ships. We ran like we had never run before. We took our place behind the defensive heavy infantry and waited. Other than giving a little supporting fire, like we were originally supposed to at sea, that was the end of the battle for us. Garrison commander, I know my father served with you, and I know you knew him well. All I'm asking is a chance to help take down the Etruscan league once and for all. All I want is a chance to do what I know would make my father proud.

"Well, in that case," the veteran commander said, "the new 21st legion needs some artillery guards. It may involve a little fighting, but it will mostly be helping with carpentry, lumbering, and a lot of hot, sweaty work. Especially being the only man left in your family, I wouldn't dare put you in the front lines, no matter how much training I gave you.

The new theory for battles devised by this new general is supposed to save a ton of Roman lives by using a lot of war machines. These new heavy ballistae our engineers have designed are something else. They can hit targets nearly a mile away. I can tell you one thing, spending so much time around engineers is sure to be a whole lot more than just soldiering for you. But when those war machines you help with bring fortresses and formations tumbling down, I believe you will be getting the revenge you want." I was hoping for a task in the heavy infantry, but I knew I should probably take what id been given. At least then my carpentry skills wouldn't go to waste. "All right, artillery guard it is."

**I hope you guys enjoyed! How many of you have ever held a unfortified settlement with just garrison forces against a full 20 unit army? It takes practice. Favorite, Review, and be easy on me, I haven't written a creative word in years. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own rights to Rome II Total War. However, the Marcus Cornelius character, and all the rest are of my creation fitting into the world of TW. **


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